Guterres urges Israel to stop W Bank raids

NEW YORK, Aug 29 (BBC/AFP): The head of the UN, Antonio Guterres, urges Israel to stop its operation in the West Bank, saying it is "fuelling an already explosive situation".

Israel began what it called a "counter-terrorism operation" in four areas of the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, with at least nine people killed.

The raids are believed to be the first time since the second intifada - a major Palestinian uprising from 2000 to 2005 - that several Palestinian cities have been targeted simultaneously.

On the second day of raids, Israel's military says it killed five "terrorists" who had hidden in a mosque.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Thursday he will urge the bloc's 27 member states Thursday to back sanctions on Israeli ministers accused of fomenting "hatred" towards Palestinians.

"I initiated the procedures in order to ask the member states... if they consider appropriate, including in our list of sanctions some Israeli ministers (who have) been launching unacceptable hate messages against the Palestinians," Borrell told reporters.

Speaking at the start of a foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels, Borrell said the individuals targeted had made statements that go "clearly against international law and is an incitation to commit war crimes".

"I think that the European Union has not to have taboos in order to use our toolbox-in order to make humane law respected," Borrell said.

According to diplomats, Borrell's proposal targets Israel's finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, and its national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, both outspoken figures on the far right.

Smotrich has triggered international uproar by suggesting it would be justified to starve two million Gazans to free Israeli captives in the Palestinian territory, while Ben Gvir has been called out over a string of inflammatory actions and comments.

Borrell's sanctions proposal has little chance of success, with EU states divided since the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas-led militants, and Israel's retaliatory assault on the Gaza Strip.

The EU top diplomat stressed no decision would be taken during Thursday's informal meeting.

Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic are among the EU countries that staunchly defend Israel's right to self-defence, blocking any attempt at tough measures targeting the Israeli government.

Rescued Israeli pleads for

hostage deal with Hamas

A Bedouin Arab man rescued in Gaza has urged Israel to reach a deal with Hamas to free all the remaining hostages, as details of his suffering in captivity have emerged.

Kaid Farhan Elkadi, 52, was rescued on Tuesday in a "complex operation in the southern Gaza Strip", the Israeli military said. After returning to his village in southern Israel on Wednesday, Mr Elkadi said his "happiness is not complete as long as there are detainees" on both sides.

Meanwhile, a former Israeli mayor said Mr Elkadi had been hardly exposed to sunlight for eight months. In a separate development on Wednesday, Israel announced that it had recovered the body of an Israeli soldier killed in last October's attack by Hamas on Israel.

The soldier's name was not publicly released at the request of his family.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said "a bold operation" by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the country's security service reflected "our commitment to bringing all the hostages home".